The Story of St. John - History & Facts

The Story of St. John - History & Facts

St. John was the cousin of St. Andrew the Apostle. St. Andrew is believed to have founded the town of Philippi, the birthplace of St. Paul. St. Paul says in his Epistle to the Colossians that St. John was his cousin and with St. Luke wrote the third Gospel, which tells of the martyrdom of Christ. St. Luke's Gospel also says that the author of the Gospel of St. Mark was a disciple of St. John. St. John is said to have been baptizing in a village called Bethsaida. As the apostles were traveling from one place to another, John the Baptist stopped in this village, inviting all who wished to be baptized to do so. When Christ came to this village, He began to walk along the sea-shore, and after walking in this manner for a while, He called His disciples to Him, and told them to wait for Him at the Seapoints (meaning this place) till He sent the Spirit of the Father to them. St. Mark tells us that the next thing we know is that all those who had believed in Jesus, were brought to them. The people at Bethsaida were all baptized by the sea in the presence of Jesus and His disciples. St. Mark tells us in his gospel that Christ sent them away by boat from Bethsaida to their own country, and they landed at their own city. However, as St. Luke says in his Gospel, Christ Himself, after He had blessed them on their way back to the city, and was being led by them along the road which leads through the Mount of Olives to the city, sat down and began to talk with them. He went on telling them about the events which were soon to take place in Jerusalem and the rest of Judea. During this conversation, He warned them that they were to be watched and tempted, and that He was leaving them to be witnesses of the sufferings of others. After His talk with them, He went to the Temple and was seated on the Mount of Olives. From here, He could see the turbulent crowd and the Jews and other people who were bringing their gifts and offerings to the Temple. All this crowd assembled there in order to get a sight of the King of Kings. Christ, while sitting here, told the people that He was the Christ of God and that He had come to this world to save His people. He then began to pray and to give thanks to God for all the things He had done in His life, and for all the things He was about to do in the world. The people began to talk among themselves, wondering what He meant when He said that He was the Christ of God. His disciples had told them that He was the Christ of the Jews and that He was going to the city to be baptized by John, the Apostle. However, it is now that He begins to teach them. He began to tell them that He came to this world as the light and the life. He also told them that He had to be rejected by man because of the hardness of their hearts. Jesus was talking to them about Himself when He said, 'I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father, except through Me.' He told them, 'I am the Light of the world, and the Bread of Life. Whoever comes to Me, cannot have unclean hands, because I wash him, and He who has seen Me has seen the Father. 'He who has believed in Me, has believed in the Father. The words that I speak to you are words that have been handed down to Me by My Father, and they are not My words; they belong to Him. 'He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, `I am gods'? No man who has seen Me has ever seen the Father. He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, `I am of God, and He has created Me'? No one who has seen Me has ever seen the Father. Where the Father and the Son are, there is the Holy Spirit.' He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, `I am God's son'? No one who has ever seen Me has ever seen the Father; how can you say, `I am the bread of God?' 'He who comes to Me, does not come to Me, but He who